OWLS 301 



already nesting. From that date on, he had excellent opportunity to study 

 the birds as they incubated their eggs and reared their young. (See pi. 42.) 



Seven nests or broods of the Long-eared Owl Avere found, and 3 of these 

 were kept under intermittent observation during the months of May and 

 June. In all cases the owls had preempted older nests of the Black-billed 

 Magpie, a bird common in that vicinity. The owls begin to nest somewhat 

 earlier than do the magpies, and hence gain possession of the last year's 

 nests before the original builders have occasion to reclaim them. The 

 magpies thus have to build anew. In almost every instance a newly con- 

 structed and occupied magpie's nest was found within 15 to 50 feet of an 

 owl's nest. 



The owls were rather easy to photograph, as the accompanying illus- 

 trations will indicate. If the sitting bird flushed at his approach it was 

 only necessary for the observer to go away for a few minutes and the 

 bird would return. Then a quiet approach would make it possible to set 

 up the camera at a relatively short range. The owls usually gave little 

 heed to the camera, save to glare at the lens as though the reflection seen 

 there were another and intruding owl. One individual, thought to be a 

 female, was more aggressive, and several times attacked the photographer 

 openly. She would w^ait until Mr. Dixon put his head under the focusing 

 cloth; then she would swoop down and strike his head. At first the bird 

 used only her wings, but later, becoming emboldened, struck with her 

 claws, and once inflicted slight wounds in his scalp. 



In one instance the incubating bird remained on the nest until Mr. 

 Dixon was but 6 feet away (pi. 42a.). Then it flushed and began hooting, 

 whereupon its mate appeared. Another time the sitting owl remained 

 until the observer was but 5 feet away. Then she (the bird was thought 

 to be the female) hopped to a drooping willow about 12 feet away, fluffed 

 out her feathers, flapped her wings, hooted and then uttered a me-oiv-mg 

 call exactly like that of a house cat. This woke her mate, who previously 

 had been sleeping in another willow thicket a few yards away. There then 

 ensued a duet of calls which "sounded like a pair of angry tomcats." 

 Both birds flew about the nest, but would neither alight on it nor quit 

 the vicinity so long as the intruder remained. 



The hoot of the adult birds is low, mellow, and long-drawn-out, and 

 bears a resemblance to the note of the Band-tailed Pigeon. With each 

 note the throat expands and contracts but the bill is kept closed. The 

 cat-like cries are accompanied by a spreading of the wings, and while 

 uttering them the bird usually totters and struggles as though caught in 

 a trap. When surprised on the nest the owls would raise their 'ears' 

 (pi. 42a), but when they were left alone, or when perched elsewhere, the 

 ear tufts would be flattened down on the head so as scarcelv to be visible. 



